Sidearms

[MotoRoaderMike]

As you may or may not know, I am a BIG Capcom fanatic. This is NOT one of my top favorite games that they've made, but not many of the Capcom games ported to the TG16 were released in America, and if I had to choose between this and Forgotten Worlds, I'd go with this. Forgotten Worlds is probably SO MUCH more enjoyable when playing the original arcade machine. Anyway, this game is part of a genre that's referred to as "Jet Pack Hero" games. It started in 1985 with "Section Z", and then this, and then "Forgotten Worlds". Like I said, the game isn't one of my all-time favorite Capcom titles, but still, it's a great game. I already got it in the Capcom Classics Collection Vol 2 for PS2 and Capcom Classics Remixed for PSP, but I'd like to own the TG16 one sometime in the future.

[esteban]

I like this game. The power-up system feels out of place (since I associate it with 1942) and could have been better, but that's a minor quibble.

The US HuCard should be cheap and I think it is worth it. If you ever get CD capability, you should get Sidearms Special. The Red Book soundtrack is nice and they have a special version of the game included as a bonus. Perhaps this will only appeal to hardcore fans of the game, but I think it is nice.

[runinruder]

I'd owned SideArms for years and never really played it much because I didn't like the control scheme, weapons system, and washed-out graphics.  But just a few weeks ago I finally sat down and played through it, and I ended up enjoying it.  It's a tough, fast-paced game with decent music. 

It definitely has its fair share of flaws.  It's ugly, and it reuses bosses that were pretty lame in the first place over and over again.  But when it comes right down to it, the action is satisfying.   

[esteban]

I'd owned SideArms for years and never really played it much because I didn't like the control scheme, weapons system, and washed-out graphics.  But just a few weeks ago I finally sat down and played through it, and I ended up enjoying it.  It's a tough, fast-paced game with decent music. 

It definitely has its fair share of flaws.  It's ugly, and it reuses bosses that were pretty lame in the first place over and over again.  But when it comes right down to it, the action is satisfying.   

The "bosses" are uninspired, as you said, but their repetition is the worst part. At least it isn't as bad as Legendary Wings (NES)! Talk about repetitive!

Anyway, not to derail this topic, but it just occurred to me that the horizontal shooter segments of Monstair Lair (CD) are repetitive like those found in Legendary Wings (NES). We had discussed Monstair Lair in your thread recently, and I was recently playing Lifeforce (NES) and I realized how awesome Konami handled the shift in genres.

Also,  to further derail this topic, it occurred to me that MotoRoaderMike liked / wanted The Legend of Hero Tonma. I think he also stated he liked Data East? Well, even if he didn't, I wanted to hear folks talk about how great Karnov was and how Tonma could have benefitted from stealing a few ideas from it.

Now, let's get back on topic.

Random thought: Sidearms is neat because has many "classic" Capcom elements (i.e. the hidden point-bonus items --1942, Gunsmoke, Commando, etc.)

Random question: Several years ago, I tried to find the Japanese Famicom version of Section Z. Does it exist? Is it hard to find?

[nat]

Sidearms is a classic, plain and simple.

The graphics are a little washy and *do* appear dated, but that's the end of the cons for me.

I've only owned the TG version for a short while but I find it gets pretty hard roundabout the third level. Maybe I just haven't played it enough.

[Ninja Spirit]

I'd owned SideArms for years and never really played it much because I didn't like the control scheme, weapons system, and washed-out graphics.  But just a few weeks ago I finally sat down and played through it, and I ended up enjoying it.  It's a tough, fast-paced game with decent music. 

It definitely has its fair share of flaws.  It's ugly, and it reuses bosses that were pretty lame in the first place over and over again.  But when it comes right down to it, the action is satisfying.   

Random question: Several years ago, I tried to find the Japanese Famicom version of Section Z. Does it exist? Is it hard to find?

Famicom Disk System only. You can also save on that version too.

[ParanoiaDragon]

I actually love the Turbo version of Forgotten Worlds, it has a superior soundtrack, & it looks very close to the arcade version, especially when you compare it to the Genesis version.

[ccovell]

What do you guys mean by washed-out?  I find the graphics to Sidearms to be extremely crisp, colourful, detailed, and high-resolution (as Capcom often pointed out on their game boxes.) 

[Joe Redifer]

Be sure to get SideArms Special which I believe is a Super CD game.  It has some sort of Jesus Mode or something.

[runinruder]

The "bosses" are uninspired, as you said, but their repetition is the worst part. At least it isn't as bad as Legendary Wings (NES)! Talk about repetitive!

Anyway, not to derail this topic, but it just occurred to me that the horizontal shooter segments of Monstair Lair (CD) are repetitive like those found in Legendary Wings (NES). We had discussed Monstair Lair in your thread recently, and I was recently playing Lifeforce (NES) and I realized how awesome Konami handled the shift in genres.

Legendary Wings looked really cool in Nintendo Power.  I was so disappointed when I bought it and it ended up sucking.  Like you said, it was so repetitive. 

For me, the shooter king as far as shifting gears goes is Thunder Force II.  I know a lot of babies hate the overhead levels, but I loved seeing how fast I could blast through them, and the sidescrolling stages were practically precursors to Gate of Thunder. 

[ParanoiaDragon]

Be sure to get SideArms Special which I believe is a Super CD game.  It has some sort of Jesus Mode or something.

That would be BC mode, which is supposed to sort of a prequal.  And it's a regular CD IIRC.

[Tatsujin]

side arms is a very nice port and i believe the pce-port is the only one which was released back in the 16-bit age. the colorpalette was, as usualy well used by NEC-Avenue and it shines in a almost accurate capcom arcade style. it's also quite tough in later stages. im not that good on that one :oops:

[TR0N]

Sidearms is a classic, plain and simple.

The graphics are a little washy and *do* appear dated, but that's the end of the cons for me.

I've only owned the TG version for a short while but I find it gets pretty hard roundabout the third level. Maybe I just haven't played it enough.

Agreed.

I've beat SideArms on the TG16 and it's not a easy feet at all.

[rolins]

Not overly hard i think. Just keep playing until you've memorized exactly where the enemies appear, and take them out before they overwhelm you. The best way of beating this game is to use the shotgun when going through the stages. It's the perfect crowd control and even cancels out enemy bullets too, but it has lousy firepower and it's short range. So for any of the bosses, like that carousel in the first stage, switch over to the 3-Way.

[nodtveidt]

It took me about 6 months to master Sidearms, about the same amount of time it took me to master Sinistron. The key to victory is the Shotgun...Shotgun + Alpha = unstoppable. Once you're into Stage 4, if you lose your Shotgun then you're as good as dry toast in Ethiopia (yeah yeah, bad joke, sue me). For the bosses, here's a detailed strategy I developed (I don't know what the regular bosses are called):

Type 1 Boss (level 1): Use the 3-way to deliver a serious pelting to this ugly mofo while stopping incoming homing missles.
Type 2 Boss (level 3 and 5): Again, stick with the 3-way for good damage and bogey-killing. This guy takes a beating though. Much easier than his arcade counterpart.
Type 3 Boss (Level 6, 7, 8, and 9): Switch to the laser cannon (Mega Ballistic Laser)...you have to take this guy out FAST and the laser cannon is as strong as it gets. Watch out for his charging attack and dodge the best you can. If you get killed, run into him when you respawn for an extra dose of damage.
Type 4 Boss (Level 2): The first of the weird rotating bosses, this one shoots normal shots at you. Shotgun ftw.
Type 5 Boss (Level 4): The second of the weird rotating bosses, this one shoots lasers at you. Use the laser cannon to take it out quickly. This is the only one of the rotating bosses you fight that you have nothing available to block its shots.
Type 6 Boss (Level 9): The last of the weird rotating bosses, this one shoots homing missles at you. Three-way shot on rapidfire will put this one down quickly.
Nemesis-10 (Final Boss): Use Shotgun + Alpha or you'll be toast in mere seconds from the sheer amount of firepower this thing has. You'll also have to find one of the two safe spots on the screen where you can continuously deal damage, block shots, and not get hit all at the same time.